River

RIVER. A natural collection of waters, arising from springs or fountains,
which flow in a bed or canal of considerable width and length, towards the
sea.
2. Rivers may be considered as public or private.
3. Public rivers are those in which the public have an interest.
4. They are either navigable, which, technically understood, signifies
such rivers in which the tide flows; or not navigable. The soil or bed of
such a navigable river, understood in this sense, belongs not to the
riparian proprietor, but to the public. 3 Caines' Rep. 307; 10 John. R. 236;
17 John. R. 151; 20 John. R. 90; 5 Wend. R. 423; 6 Cowen, R. 518; 14 Serg. &
Rawle, 9; 1 Rand. Rep. 417; 3 Rand. R. 33; 3 Greenl. R. 269; 2 Conn. R. 481;
5 Pick. 199.
5. Public rivers, not navigable, are those which belong to the people
in general, as public highways. The soil of these rivers belongs generally,
to the riparian owner, but the public have the use of the stream, and the
authors of nuisances and impediments over such a stream are indictable. Ang.
on Water Courses, 202; Davies' Rep. 152; Callis on Sewers, 78; 4 Burr. 2162.
6. By the ordinance of 1787, art. 4, relating to the northwestern
territory, it is provided that the navigable waters, leading into the
Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same,
shall be common highways, and forever free. 3 Story, L. U. S. 2077.
7. A private river, is one so naturally obstructed, that there is no
passage for boats; for if it be capable of being so navigated, the public
may use its waters. 1 McCord's Rep. 580. The soil in general belongs to the
riparian proprietors. (q.v.) A river, then, may be considered, 1st. As
private, in the case of shallow and obstructed streams. 2d. As private
property, but subject to public use, when it can be navigated; and, 3d. As
public, both with regard to its use and property. Some rivers possess all
these qualities. The Hudson is mentioned as an instance; in one part it is
entirely private property; in another the public have the use of it; and it
is public property from the mouth as high up as the tide flows. Ang. Wat.
Co. 205, 6.
8. In Pennsylvania, it has been held that the great rivers of that
state, as the Susquehanna, belong to the public, and that the riparian
proprietor does not own the bed or canal. 2 Binn. R. 75; 14 Serg. & Rawle,
71. Vide, generally, Civ. Code of Lo. 444; Bac. Ab. Prerogatives, B 3; 7
Com. Dig. 291; 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 170; Merl. Repert, h.t.; Jacobsen's Sea
Laws, 417; 2 Hill. Abr. c. 13; 2 Fairf. R. 278 3 Ohio Rep. 496; 6 Mass. R.
435; 15 John. R. 447; 1 Pet. C. C. Rep. 64; 1 Paige's Rep. 448; 3 Dane's R.
4; 7 Mass. Rep. 496; 17 Mass. Rep. 289; 5 Greenl. R. 69; 10 Wend. R. 260;
Kames, Eq. 38; 6 Watts & Serg. 101. As to the boundaries of rivers, see
Metc. & Perk. Dig. Boundaries, IV.; as to the grant of a river, see 5 Cowen,
216; Co. Litt. 4 b; Com. Dig. Grant, E 5.

At one part of the river, they passed, on the northern side, an isolated rock, about one hundred and fifty feet high, rising from a low marshy soil, and totally disconnected with the adjacent mountains.

From the number of dead bodies in canoes observed upon this rock by the first explorers of the river, it received the name of Mount Coffin, which it continues to bear.

Beyond this rock they passed the mouth of a river on the right bank of the Columbia, which appeared to take its rise in a distant mountain covered with snow.

He had fallen upon the trail of Captain Bonneville's party, just after leaving the Nebraska; and, finding that they had frightened off all the game, had been obliged to push on, by forced marches, to avoid famine: both men and horses were, therefore, much travel-worn; but this was no place to halt; the plain before them he said was destitute of grass and water, neither of which would be met with short of the Green River, which was yet at a considerable distance.

The soil of a great part of this Green River valley is a whitish clay, into which the rain cannot penetrate, but which dries and cracks with the sun.

Fontenelle and his party had not fared much better; the chief part had managed to reach the river by nightfall, but were nearly knocked up by the exertion; the horses of others sank under them, and they were obliged to pass the night upon the road.

Yet as she glanced from them to her new captors she could not but feel that she would prefer captivity in one of the settlements they were passing--there at least she might find an opportunity to communicate with her father, or be discovered by the rescue party as it came up the river.

Barunda and Ninaka urged their men on, with brief rests, all day, nor did they halt even after night had closed down upon the river.

Then they dropped down the river with the current, and paddled about above the gorge for half an hour.

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.